Turkey Quarantines Dozens of Villages in 18 Provinces over Coronavirus Pandemic

Map shows quarantined settlements and the provinces they are located in.

Turkey quarantined a total of 39 settlements in 18 provinces to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Interior Ministry announced yesterday (March 30).

The settlements include one town, six neighborhoods, 28 villages and four hamlets, the ministry said. The names of the settlements were not disclosed by the ministry but the relevant governors.

The decision came as part of efforts to stem the spread of Covid-19 and to ensure social isolation in these settlements, the ministry added.

Although the quarantined towns are located in a wide area from east to the west of the country, they are mostly in less populated provinces. Only three provinces that have populations higher than 750 thousand include quarantined settlements: Mardin, Malatya and Van.

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No settlements have been quarantined in İstanbul, the largest province of the country, or Ankara, the capital, even though the two provinces are thought to be among the most affected by the pandemic.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said last week that the disease spread all over the country.

The Governor's office of the northwestern Kırklaeri province announced that it quarantined 484 refugees returning from the border with Greece. The refugees who flocked to the border after Turkey announced that it loosened controls in late February had to return after it closed the borders again due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CLICK - Coronavirus Map: Live Updates on the Pandemic

(VK)